10 Things to Know about the Opéra Comédie

Situated right in the heart of Montpellier's historic city center, the first Théâtre Municipal was designed by Jacques Philippe Mareschal and opened in 1755.
It was damaged by fire for the first time during the night of December 17 to 18, 1785. The reconstruction work provided the opportunity to revamp the great hall and extend some of the interior areas. This second theater was inaugurated in October of 1787, but fell victim to fire again during the night of April 5 to 6, 1881, and was completely destroyed. A witness told the press that the flames lit up the city, making for "a sight that was both spectacular and terrifying."
In July 1881, shortly after the fire, the City Council launched a competition for the construction of a new Théâtre Municipal.

From 1884 through 1888, the building site for the Opéra Comédie kept about 100 workers busy.

Garnier's influence is visible in Cassien-Bernard's design; on the outside, the three large picture windows on the facade were inspired by the Opéra de Monte-Carlo (Garnier, 1879) ...

... whereas for the interior, Cassien-Bernard drew inspiration more from the Opéra de Paris (Palais Garnier), with its enormous stage curtain and painted proscenium arch ...

... and a hall designed in a distinctly Italian style: in a horseshoe shape and distributed over five stories.

The jewel in the great hall's crown is its monumental Baccarat crystal chandelier suspended from the middle of the cupola, which was painted by Arnaud-Durbec as an allegory of Montpellier with its triumphal arch and its Languedoc customs.

After 18 months of work financed by the city of Montpellier, the stage area had been extended, motorized, and made safer, allowing all kinds of scenery and accessories to be brought on stage more fluidly.

The orchestra pit was also reconfigured, making it easier for musicians to enter, and improving the comfort and acoustics.

Lastly, the original proscenium arch, crowning the stage and displaying the year in which the theater opened, was restored, and the trompe-l'œil painted stage curtain was recreated from archive photos.

To prepare for the works, two impressive architectural models measuring 8 x 3 feet (2.5 x 1 meters or 1/50th scale) were created by Ducaroy Grange and L'Atelier. They are now on display in the Trois Grâces de l'Opéra entrance hall.

The Opéra Comédie (the main hall), an Italian-style hall with a capacity of 1,200 distributed over five levels.

And the Salle Molière (formerly known simply as the concert hall), named in tribute to the actor and playwright who lived in Pézenas for a long time.
Situated to the rear of the building and perpendicular to the great hall, the Salle Molière provides a very beautiful setting, with its suspended boxes and its capacity of 350 seats.

At the request of Cassien-Bernard, the clock was designed by the Béziers-born sculptor Injalbert (Prix de Rome 1874). It is flanked by two angels, each holding a torch, symbolizing music and poetry.

Every Monday, in a room just below the roof of the opera house, the clock is manually wound by a horologist.

Local tour guides are familiar with the fact that the Trois Grâces foyer is home to two statues of muses standing some 49 feet (15 meters) apart.

A surprising phenomenon occurs when two people each stand behind one of these statues: thanks to the reverberation friendly vaulted architecture, an acoustic bridge is created, enabling them to hear each other speaking, or even whispering, at a distance of more than 49 feet (15 meters) away!

This monumental light has a room all to itself (known as the chandelier room). To undergo maintenance, rather than lowering it to the floor of the great hall, it is raised via a motor through an opening in the center of the cupola.

About 10 minutes later, the chandelier arrives in the middle of a permanent scaffold allowing the technical personnel to clean it and change its bulbs.